Schooling and childcare in Hong Kong

The international sector

Hong Kong has an unusually deep international sector for its size, covering English, American, IB, French, German, Canadian, Australian, Japanese and Korean curricula. Demand consistently outstrips supply at the well-known schools, and waiting lists at popular year groups are long. Admission is decided the academic year before entry, so a family moving in August is usually applying for the following August.

• Apply nine to twelve months ahead; mid-year places exist but are scarce and unpredictable.
• Expect an assessment, an interview and school reports covering the last two years.
• Many schools operate a capital levy, a debenture or corporate nomination rights on top of tuition.

ESF and the debenture question

The English Schools Foundation runs a large group of English-medium schools across the territory and charges a capital levy alongside tuition, with priority given by catchment zone and sibling status. Elsewhere, individual debentures and corporate nomination rights are common: a debenture is a large sum lent to the school in exchange for priority in admission, sometimes refundable when your child leaves, sometimes not. Employers with a relocation package often hold nomination rights already, so ask before you buy anything yourself.

• ESF admissions weight your residential address, so the flat and the school decision are linked.
• Ask whether a debenture is individual or corporate, refundable or non-refundable, and transferable.
• Confirm what your employer's package covers before committing your own capital.

Local schools

Government and aided schools are free and of a high standard, with the teaching medium usually Cantonese, and written Chinese throughout. Direct Subsidy Scheme schools charge fees, have more curricular freedom and often more English-medium teaching. Primary places are allocated through a two-stage system of discretionary places followed by central allocation based on school net, which again ties the school to your address.

• Government and aided schools are free; Direct Subsidy Scheme schools charge fees.
• Primary allocation runs on discretionary places then central allocation by school net.
• A child arriving without Chinese literacy faces a hard adjustment beyond the early primary years.

Nursery and younger children

Kindergartens for children roughly aged three to six are largely private but supported by a government voucher scheme that covers much of the cost at participating half-day places. Below that age, provision is thin and expensive, which is one reason live-in domestic helpers are so widely employed for childcare. Popular kindergartens interview and are oversubscribed, and applications open a full year ahead.